


Blank Slate

by sg_wonderland



Category: Stargate SG-1, Torchwood
Genre: Crossover, Episode Related, Episode: s07e01 Fallen, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-14 22:21:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11217423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sg_wonderland/pseuds/sg_wonderland
Summary: What if Oma miscalculated just a bit? ‘Torchwood’/’Stargate SG-1’ crossover.





	Blank Slate

“A beam of light? We’re going all the way out here for a beam of light?” Owen was incredulous; he’d left a nearly full pint for this wild goose chase.

“It’s not just a beam of light.” Toshiko reprimanded him, her fingers momentarily still on the keyboard. “It came a great distance, from farther out in space than I have ever tracked anything traveling. Besides, there’s something there.” 

“Define something.”

“Something as in something that shows up on infrared. It may be someone.”

He perked up. “Maybe it’s a sex-starved alien.”

“Yeah,” Jack Harkness drawled from the driver’s seat. “Because we need another one of those floatin’ about the place.”

*

They approached the still form carefully, slowly. “Well,” Jack broke the silence, “unless he’s very ingenious, he’s not concealing a weapon.” He’d be hard pressed to do so, since the alien was lying curled up on his side, totally naked. “Owen, fetch a blanket from the car. Gwen, cover me, I’m gonna see if I can wake him up.” 

Holding his gun firmly in his right hand, Jack knelt and softly shook the man. He immediately rolled onto his back, his eyes flying open, a look of abject terror on his face. “Hey, how you doing? Who are you?”

His vacant eyes jumped from unknown face to unknown face, widened in confusion. “I…I don’t know.”

“Jack, I think he’s human.” Gwen offered over his shoulder.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because that looks like a pretty human appendix scar.” All of their eyes automatically sought out the scar and the naked man frowned and cupped one hand over the spot, while trying quite unsuccessfully to keep his genitals covered. “And he knows enough to know that we shouldn’t all be looking at him naked.” Jack swore under his breath; Gwen was right, his reactions seemed human. But they’d been fooled before. 

“Okay, when Owen finally gets back with the blanket, we’ll transport him back to Torchwood, see what we can find out. In the meantime, look around, see if there’s anything around here.”

There hadn’t been anything else to find; nothing except a naked man who had no idea who he was, where he’d come from.

Jack ordered them back into the car, their only piece of evidence swaddled in a blanket, jammed in the backseat flanked by Owen and Jack.

*

Because Jack couldn’t see any harm in it, he led the man into the shower, barely suppressing a grin when he had to show him how to work the water, adjust the temperature. He didn’t even try to hide the cheeky smile when the man pointedly waited to be left alone to take his shower. 

Okay, must be a bit on the shy side; keeping his privates private in front of the gals was one thing, but doing so in front of another guy bespoke of an innate reticence that Jack found unexpectedly fetching. Mix that with beautiful blue eyes and a very nice ass and he became quite appealing.

With a sigh, he left him an overly large sweat shirt and a pair of pants that would probably be too big, the guy had no hips whatsoever. Making a mental note to send Gwen out to get some clothes, he sat down and waited for him to emerge.

*

“Okay, we’ve got to call him something.” Gwen objected. “We can’t just keep referring to him as ‘him’.”

“John Doe.” Owen offered.

“So, JD,” Jack nodded. “Let’s start again.”

“No matter how many times we start, it isn’t going to change. I don’t know anything, I don’t remember anything before you found me in that field. No, I don’t know my name. No, I don’t know how I got there. Who dropped me there. I don’t know!” His voice rose to a panicked crescendo.

“Jack,” Gwen chided him softly. “Quit browbeating him. Can’t you see…?” JD was staring at Jack with puzzled eyes. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“J…Jack?” He stuttered.

“So, that’s my name.”

His brow wrinkled. “That name....I think I know Jack.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere. Are you sure you’re not Jack?”

He hesitated then shook his head. “I don’t think so, but I remember Jack.”

“That’s a very good sign.” Gwen smiled at him compassionately. “It means your memory isn’t completely gone.” He was looking, to her maternal eye, just a bit peaky. “Why don’t we get something to eat, maybe get you some more clothes?”

“Great idea. Gwen, take Owen shopping with you.” Tosh had completed a surreptitious scan to approximate JD’s sizes. Judging by the way he was squinting, if they didn’t figure out who he was soon, they’d have to have his vision checked too. “Tosh, run his prints, see if anything comes up. JD, there’s a bunk through there, why don’t you rest until they get back.” Jack’s team scattered at his orders. Only their visitor remained. “Hey, I thought I told you to take a nap.”

“Who are you people? What is this place?” His hand waved a small circle.

“Your accent tells me you’re American.”

“And yours tells me you’re not. You still didn’t answer my question.”

“Hasn’t the fact that I haven’t answered told you anything?” 

“It tells me you probably aren’t used to anyone questioning your authority.”

Jack had to grin at the challenge in those mesmerizing blue eyes. “And you are probably not too good at following orders. So, I’m guessing you’re not married.”

The low oath was guttural, not in any language Jack spoke and easily understood. “There, there, JD. Don’t get your knickers in a twist. Have a rest and a good meal and you’ll feel much better.”

“That’s extremely unlikely.”

Jack sprang up to answer the phone. “Yeah, I’ll be right there.” He turned to his guest. “I suggest you take five. I’ll be right back. Oh, by the way, all the entrances are locked so don’t even think of sneaking off.”

“And where would I go, pray tell?” JD huffed as he sat heavily on the bunk.

“Where indeed?”

*

“Tosh, what’ve you got for me?”

“A bit of a mystery, Jack. I got a match on his fingerprints.”

“That’s good.”

“Not really. The match is a guy who’s been reported as missing in action by the United States Air Force. Highest level of security clearance. I expect we’ll get a call from them any time now.”

“Well, we give them their little lost lamb and the mystery is solved. Where was he missing from?”

“Some place called Colorado.”

Jack frowned. “Never heard of it.”

*

Jack looked up at Carter and Teal’c walked into the briefing room. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Don’t have a clue, the general calls and I obey.”

General Hammond hurried into the room. “SG-1, I have what may be good news.” They all perked up. “The Pentagon reports that a top-secret organization in Europe has made inquires about Dr. Jackson.”

“Daniel?” Jack brightened up.

“Seems they found a man, no memory of who he is. They entered his fingerprints into their database and came up with Dr. Jackson. I’m waiting now for a faxed photograph.”

“Daniel? Is here on Earth?” Carter sounded shocked.

“We’ll soon find out.”

“Sir.”

“When and if we find out it’s Dr. Jackson, I’m prepared to let you go fetch him, Colonel.”

“Where is he, sir?”

“Wales.”

“What the hell is he doing in Wales?”

*

“Good new, JD. We’ve found out who you are.”

“Really?” He shot to his feet.

“Daniel.” Jack looked for a reaction to the name.

“Daniel?” His face was clearly confused.

“That’s your name. At least, we think it is. Anyway, representatives from the American Air Force will be here by morning. We’ve been asked to keep you until then.”

“Are…are they sure?”

Jack flipped a folder onto the table. “Have a look.” 

JD dragged the photograph around where he could study it. “That might be me.” He conceded.

“The fingerprints matched. So, they think it’s you.” Jack waited a beat. “Dr. Jackson.” JD’s head jerked at the title. “Yeah, I’d say that’s you. Relax, get a good night’s sleep and your friends will be here for you before you know it.”

He walked over to the door, peering down at the jumbled maze of electronics and equipment. “Where’s the rest of your…staff?”

“Sent them home.”

“You live here?”

“Yeah.”

“Nice.”

“Hey, it works for me. So, what would you like for dinner?” Jack unearthed a phone. “We can get pizza, Thai food, Indian.”

“Indian?” JD swung around.

“Yeah. You like?”

“I think so.”

“Okay, Indian it is.”

*

Three hours later, they were both slouched on Jack’s couch, take-away boxes strewn over the low slung table, two empty wine bottles rolling around on the floor. “So, anyway, Owen bets Tosh that she can’t pin him, best three out of four.”

“She’s a woman. And not a very big one.” JD pointed out helpfully.

“Take my word for it, the best way to make a woman mad is to tell her she can’t do something. Learned that one the hard way. As did Owen.” He swigged the last of the wine straight out of the bottle. Squinting, he turned toward the other man. “You know, I envy you.”

“You envy me?” He blinked back at him. “Why?”

“Because you don’t have any bad memories.”

“I don’t have any memories at all. I wouldn’t think that’s something to be envied.”

“Yeah, well, when you’ve lived as long as I have..”

“You don’t look that old to me. Mid-thirties, maybe.”

Jack laughed without humor. “If you only knew the truth.”

JD swung around, curled up on the couch so that he was facing him. “So tell me the truth.”

“Can’t do that. Classified.”

“Hey, I’ve got amnesia, who’m I gonna tell?”

“The good old American Air Force.” 

“And they’ll believe me because…?”

“Because I spoke to a General Hammond who told me in no uncertain terms that Dr. Jackson was a valuable resource who the Air Force was keenly interested in retrieving. From what I understand, they’re sending three senior officers to fetch you so that doesn’t sound like you’re just another civilian to them.”

“So I’m not actually in the Air Force?”

“Mmm, no. I think they said you were some kind of a consultant or something.”

“Wonder what I consult for?”

“Maybe you’ll take one look at the team they’re sending and it will all come back to you.”

“Maybe.” JD was clearly doubtful.

*

Jack made certain his guest was asleep before he left his quarters and ventured back out into the lounge. He hadn’t been lying when he said he envied JD; to be a clean slate, to not remember the faces of all the people he’d killed, the ones he’d lost. He’d give quite a sum for that kind of peace of mind. Even if it only lasted for a few hours.

*

“Morning, Jack.” He turned to smile at Gwen. “So how’s our mystery guest?”

“Getting a shower. An American military transport landed at the airport a few minutes ago; they’ll be here within the hour.” Gwen looked a bit hesitant. “What?”

“I don’t know, there’s something…vulnerable about him. Are we sure they know him?”

“Well, we’ll soon find out, won’t we?”

*

“They’re here, Jack.”

“Thank, Ianto, buzz them in. You,” he pointed at JD, “stay here until I tell you. Gwen.”

“Right.” She motioned JD back into the sleeping quarters.

Jack’s first impression was that these folks were military, through and through. Two men, one lean and grey-haired, the other huge, black and forbidding. Two women, one long, lean blonde and the other a diminutive, doe-eyed redhead.

He couldn’t quite picture his amnesiac guest fitting in with this bunch in any manner. The tall, grey-haired man, obviously the leader, snarled when he surveyed the room. “Where the hell is Daniel?”

“And you are?”

“None of your business. We just came for Daniel.”

“Well, until I’m sure you’re who you say you are, he goes nowhere.”

“Oh, for cryin’ out loud. “ He thrust a military ID under Jack’s nose, who took his time perusing it. O’Neill, Colonel Jonathan, Air Force, Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado. “Satisfied?”

“Not really.” Jack took a certain pleasure in the impatience on O’Neill’s face. “Care to tell me what JD is to you?”

“That would be classified.”

“I have the highest of clearance.” Jack tried to stare him down.

O’Neill shrugged, completely unimpressed. “Oh, I don’t think so. Where’s Daniel?”

Jack considered delaying further. Until the black man stepped forward. “You will produce Daniel Jackson. Immediately.” The threat simmered in the air.

“Gwen! Bring him out.” Jack shouted over his shoulder.

There was an immediate chorus of ‘Daniel’s as he stepped into the room. Jack stepped back and watched the reunion, frankly envious. Yes, his team was close but there was something here, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on as the women hugged a stiff JD, O’Neill cupped the back of his head in his large hand and the big guy stood at parade rest, looking pleased with the world in general.

“Um.” JD spoke. “Are you sure I’m me?”

The pixie-like woman held up a hand to silence the protests. “I’ve been your doctor for the past six years. You have a four-inch appendix scar. You have an old burn scar on your upper right arm. And I put five stitches in the back of your head about a year ago. I could go on but you’ve always been very modest, so I don’t want to embarrass you.”

The black guy extracted an eyeglass case from his jacket pocket, offering it to JD. “I took the liberty of stopping in Daniel Jackson’s office before we met our transport.”

JD reached for it hesitantly, opening it and donning the glasses. “Oh, that’s different. Thank you…”

“Teal’c.” He bowed slightly.

“Teal’c.” JD tried the name on his tongue before looking expectantly at the rest of the visitors.

“Oh, sorry. I’m Colonel Jack O’Neill, Major Samantha Carter, Dr. Janet Fraiser. We’re your team, and Doc, well, she likes to use you for target practice when she’s not on the gun range.”

“Jack.” He whispered.

“You said you thought you knew a Jack.” Gwen nodded.

O’Neill beamed at JD before rubbing his hands together. “So, do we sign for him or what?”

Gwen handed Major Carter a backpack. “We had to get him some clothes and stuff.”

“Thanks.” Her smile seemed genuine.

“Take care of yourself. It seems odd to call you Daniel.” Gwen patted his arm.

“Thank you. Thank all of you.” A suddenly genuine smile came over his face and Jack felt his heart give just a bit of a skip. He was surely going to miss JD.

“Listen, keep in touch; let us know how things go for you.” Jack extended his hand.

“Thanks, I will.”

“Okay, now that we’ve got the love-fest out of the way, can we go now? I’ve got a jet double parked at the airport.” O’Neill groused with little true malice.

*

Captain Jack Harkness stood at the window and watched as they rushed across the plaza and piled into a waiting military vehicle.

“Good, bye, JD. Have a nice life.”


End file.
